Business Week
Uribe vows calm as Colombia awaits referendum ruling
Feb 5--Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said he would “act prudently” to let the constitutional court evaluate a proposed referendum on a third term after local media said a judge recommended that his colleagues block the vote.
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“I will act prudently to contribute to the calm functioning of institutions,” Uribe said in an interview today with Radio Reloj, when asked about reports that Magistrate Humberto Sierra, who was in charge of evaluating the referendum, had delivered a negative opinion to the other justices on the nine-member court.
Sierra found irregularities in the congressional vote organized by Uribe’s supporters, El Tiempo newspaper said today, without saying how it obtained access to the confidential opinion the judge submitted yesterday.
“The analysis is just the opinion of one magistrate,” Nilson Pinilla, president of the court, said in an interview on RCN Radio. “It doesn’t change anything. We will continue with our analysis. We will provide a ruling as soon as possible.”
A court spokesman, who can’t be identified in accordance with court policy, said the reports were speculation. Pinilla, who is barred by law from commenting on Sierra’s analysis, told RCN he didn’t know if the media reports were accurate or speculation. The court has 60 working days to rule on the proposed referendum.
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